A mother-of-two who was found dead at her home in a Carse of Gowrie village in an incident police are linking to the serious crash on the A90 on Friday has been named by police.
Officers discovered Barbara Jane Cumming (40) shortly before 2pm on Friday while carrying out inquiries into “other matters”.
Mrs Cumming, who was known by family and friends as Jane, lived with her husband Neil (45) and children 12-year-old Nicole and Claire (11) at the family home in Mary Findlay Drive, Longforgan. Her death is being treated as suspicious and continues to be connected to a road crash that took place around two hours before the grim discovery, when a man understood to be Mrs Cumming’s husband suffered life-threatening injures after his car collided with a lorry on the A90 on the outskirts of the city.
Born in Blairgowrie, Mrs Cumming was raised in Burrelton, attending the local primary school and then Blairgowrie High School before moving to Perth in her early 20s. The family have lived in Longforgan for four years.
She was employed as a sales adviser with the TSB in Albert Street, Dundee.
In a statement issued through the police, family members said, “Jane was a wonderful, family-oriented person who had all the love in the world for her two girls.
“She was always there for anyone in the family and for her friends whenever she was needed and was a best friend to us all. We all miss her desperately.”
A cordon remained in force around the house as officers continued their investigations into the incident. A post mortem is scheduled to take place today.
Police confirmed that the 45-year-old man injured in the road collision is of significant interest to the investigation. However, he remains unconscious and in a serious condition in hospital.
Commenting on the wider investigation, Detective Inspector Caroline Lindsay said, “Our thoughts are with Jane’s family at this terrible time and we are determined to establish the full circumstances surrounding her death.
“We hope that the public can assist us to this end as we seek to build a picture of events prior to Jane’s death. In particular, we want to speak with anyone who saw Jane and or her husband prior to about 11.30 on Friday morning.
“Did you see them in the village that morning or in the Dundee area nearby? Did you see them the previous evening? If you did then please get in touch with Tayside Police.
“You may think that any information you have is not important to our enquiries, but please let us be the judges of that any information, no matter how insignificant you believe it to be, might help us complete the picture of what happened.”
Residents of Longforgan were still coming to terms with the news over the weekend. The Rev Elizabeth Kay led the Sunday service at Longforgan Parish Church, a short walk from where the tragedy took place, and said the family were remembered in prayer.
Meanwhile Adam Dorward (18), a shop assistant at the Longforgan General Store, said rumours were circulating.
“It has been a shock to everyone,” he said. “Nothing like this happens round here you don’t expect it.”
Neighbour Sirisha Attili (28) said she did not know the couple but was stunned when she heard what had happened.
“I have been away and just got back so didn’t really know what was going on,” she said. “I was shocked when I found out. This is a nice area, it’s pretty quiet, and you don’t expect this.”
There is a popular play park near the house in Mary Findlay Drive, and police are appealing for anyone who was there on Friday morning and who saw or heard anything suspicious to call them on 0300 111 2222 or speak to their local officer.